Financial Aid & Scholarships

Financial Aid Office

Our Financial Aid Office is here to assist you by providing you with informative insight on borrowing to fund your medical education and share any available scholarship opportunities with you. Do not hesitate to contact the Financial Aid Office with any questions you may have concerning financial aid. You will also find additional information directly on our Financial Aid webpage.

One of the Most Important Investments You Will Ever Make

The costs of medical education are indeed high; therefore, careful planning and fiscal management are essential to meet your future obligations. Our goal is to help you become an informed borrower and to provide a comprehensive system of financial assistance services. Our intent is to provide not only dollar support but also financial counseling and debt management planning services as well.

The WVSOM Financial Aid Philosophy statement suggests, we "expect that students will make every effort to finance their education". The Financial Aid Office will try to assist you with financing issues. Since scholarship and grant moneys are extremely limited, most students must secure outside educational loans to finance their education.

You should remember that a loan is not a gift or grant - it must be repaid.

Educational debt management is essential. We encourage you to learn some basic budgeting techniques, to learn to cut costs and possibly to learn to live with less. We encourage you to seek ways to creatively finance your education.

Is It Worth It?

The high student loan debt of medical school graduates has been a hot topic in the news recently. It may reassure you to know that the default rate for WVSOM students over the past three years has remained below 1%. Not only are WVSOM graduates paying off their student loan debt on time, but WVSOM graduates continue to be in high demand among residency programs. Below you can see the residency match information for the most recent classes of graduates.

Applying for Financial Aid

Loan Programs

Unsubsidized Stafford: A non-need based loan for up to $42,722. Interest rate is fixed at 6% and interest accrues from the date of the first loan disbursement. The loan fee is 1.069%.

Graduate Plus Loan: Federally insured loan at a fixed rate of 7% interest. Loan fee of 4.276%. Interest accrues from the date of the first disbursement. Eligibility is up to the budget maximum less other aid.

Additional information on these loan programs is available through the Federal Student Aid website.

Scholarships

A variety of scholarship opportunities are available to WVSOM students. The Director of Financial Aid provides information to those students who meet the specific scholarship requirements. You can also visit our Scholarship webpage for additional information.

Institutional and Privately Funded Scholarships: A limited number of scholarships are available through WVSOM

Veterans Administration: Students who are eligible for VA benefits should contact their Regional VA Office or the WVSOM Registrar's Office

Health Professions Scholarship Program: Full scholarships awarded through a branch of the armed forces. Contact your local Armed Forces recruiter for more information

Federal Work Study: Campus-based, federally-funded program, which allows students to work during the summer and part-time during the academic year. There is a community service component to this program.

Web Accessibility: Every effort has been made to ensure the pages on this website are accessible to individuals with disabilities. If you or someone you know is not able to access any content on this website due to a disability, please let us know by emailing our webmaster.